“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
~ Jawaharlal Nehru
I was reminded recently of how self-nurturing an adventure can be! As I shared in “Love is Calling” last week, my family had many adventures on our trips to Maui and have been intentionally seeking out adventure now that we are home. What I love about adventure is that it takes us out of our normal routine and adds excitement and fun to our lives. Adventure also opens us up to new possibilities, inspiration, growth, and stretching outside our comfort zone.
Stretching outside our comfort zone can be both anxiety inducing and exciting but is critical for our growth!
When we first start to nurture ourselves, it may feel like an adventure. After so many years of caring for everyone else in lives but ourselves, focusing on ourselves can feel strange and even risky. Trying something new without knowing what the impact will be can bring up resistance and fear. It is normal to experience some anxiety or excitement as we embark on this new path.
But risk taking and adventures are required if we want to grow and nurture our potential. When we choose to embrace opportunities that arise with an open heart and mind, we undermine our resistance to change and fear cannot take hold. Incorporating a spirit of adventure in our self-nurturing practice encourages us to see the infinite possibilities to live with more love, authentically, joy, energy, creativity, connection, truth, and beauty!
As Eleanor Roosevelt reminded us, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
In the spirit of nurturing our adventurous spirits, my husband and I have been decluttering our lives to make more room for spontaneity, adventure, and fun. We have decided to change the side of the bed we sleep on once again to get out of our normal routines. And since our vacation we have chosen to wake early a number of times in order to watch the sun rise. I have found that finding ways to connect to the awe and wonder of the natural world inspires a sense of adventure, which we got a big dose of the other night watching the lunar eclipse!
Nurturing our adventurous spirit is empowering and liberating and supports us in cultivating more peace, joy and meaning in our lives!
Here are a few ideas for inviting more adventure into your life:
- Try an activity you have not tried before
- Be bold and do something that scares you
- Begin a conversation with a stranger and see what you learn
- Break your routine for one day
- Say yes to something you would usually say no to
- Choose curiosity over judgment
- Be spontaneous and do something unplanned
- Explore a new area of your town or city
- Take a leap and express yourself in a new way
- Be creative
- Speak your truth
- Hike on a new path
- Stretch out of your comfort zone
- Learn something new
- Try a new food
- Look for hidden treasures on a walk
- Ask someone for directions to their favorite spot and check it out
- Take a new path to a familiar place
After reading those opportunities for adventure reflect on the following questions:
- What is one new activity you will engage in to nurture your adventurous spirit?
- How will it stretch you out of your comfort zone and inspire you?
- How could you include adventure in your self-nurturing practice?
I encourage you to invite more adventure into your life and see how self-nurturing it can be! Instead of fearing change, let’s welcome it in and celebrate transforming our routines into beautiful nurturing ways of living!
As Helen Keller reminded us, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
May you nurture your adventurous spirit as you nurture peace in the world from the inside out!
Sending you so much peace, love and gratitude,
Kelley Grimes, M.S.W.
Counselor, Author & Speaker
Sign up to receive daily reminders with our mobile app!
Appreciating your adventure ideas as they create a fun intention and goal list!
Try an activity you have not tried before. (Leading seniors with Eckerd College tomorrow on a Day Trip to a place that’s new to me)
Be bold and do something that scares you. (Tandem skydiving! I’ve got a Groupon)
Explore a new area of your town or city. (Does Arcidosso, Italy count? Site of my new women’s writing retreat in September.)
Learn something new (Facebook lives and Zoom are in my future.)
Try a new food (Cambodian and Vietnamese food is calling me.)
Best wishes for a tsunami of success with your Master Class today. I’ll be there in spirit; can’t attend as I’ve got a planning meeting with the college for tomorrow’s large trip of 33.
How wonderful Lore! I love that you have an adventure/goal list and all the activities sound deeply joyful and nurturing! You are a wonderful model for stretching and growing and I am so grateful for your best wishes for my masterclass today! Have a fabulous time on your day trip!
I love this article Kelley! I like to think of myself as an adventurous spirit but you gave me more ideas on how to cultivate it. For me adventure whether it’s traveling or trying a new activity, opens me to creativity because it breaks me out of my routines. I feel untethered and inpired which leads to a happier life. It’s also one of the practices to reduce anxiety that I suggest to my clients. Thank you for sharing your wisdom <3
Thank you so much Debra! Travel is a fabulous way to nurture our adventurous spirit and thank you for highlighting these practices as supportive in reducing anxiety as well. There is a powerful confidence building that happens when we stretch outside our comfort zone and recognize all our strengths and resilience! I so appreciate your insight!
I love all of the suggestions you list and have done most of them! My favorite is speaking my truth from a loving place. I was quiet most of my life, I have decided to open up more and share my truth, wisdom and knowledge with others, it’s been an adventure for me, it’s a blessing to sometimes be able to help others by just saying a few words. I would also add that as humans, it’s quiet the adventure to create a connection to the other side.
What a powerful transformation of speaking your truth from love Heather! Thank you so much for sharing your story and adventure!
Ah! You’ve challenged my inner child! Nothing excites the spirit like a new adventure. I’m seriously asking myself those questions and “feeling” the answers.
Hurray! I am so excited you have taken up the challenge and are inspired to invite more adventure into your life Barb! Thank you so much for the comment!
Love this post Kelley and the links you’ve made between adventure and self-nurturing! Thanks for sharing how you have been incorporating more adventure into your life and for the useful strategies. I’m all over them as I believe that “Life is an adventure to be lived to the fullest!”
My latest blog post was an adventure into stretching outside my comfort zone and had a lot of healing and self reflection that will now allow me to have more impact.
That is speaking my truth
I am going to take up your challenge to speak to more strangers
A new adventure for me in self nurturing – now my challenge is to create time for my creativity- my create spirit is feeling a little starved right now, thank you I am thinking on how that will transpire I feel the need to stitch
Great post and love you suggestions xx
I can’t wait to read your blog Suzie. Speaking your truth, talking to more strangers and being creative are all fabulous ways to nurture your adventurous spirit. I am so grateful for comment!
I love this article, Kelley! I’m on an adventure unlike any I’ve been on before. I’m getting used to doing things on my own in locations I’m unfamiliar with. The favorite parts of my day are when the sun rises and when it sets. It’s when I truly feel blessed to be where I’m standing. Thanks for the inspiration to explore a little further than I am.
What a beautiful journey you are on Cindy! I love that your favorite times are sunrises and sunsets. They are sacred powerful times of day for me as well and I so honor your healing adventure! Thank you so much for your comment!
I love your ideas, Kelley. My favorite is one that I do all the time – strike up conversations while waiting in the line at the post office, bank or even my favorite shops. More often than not, I’ve met people who’ve added new information on topics of interest to me and on more than one occasion, it turned out that we had good mutual friends in common!
How wonderful that you have had such great connections talking to strangers while waiting or shopping! I really appreciate you comment Vatsala. Thank you!
Love this article Kelly! Adventure is always on my mind 😉
I love that adventure is always on your mind Zeenat! Thank you for your comment!
Hey very nice blog!
Thank you!